Shadow in the Sun
by rockman2k
Summary: This is my new Rurouni Kenshin fic well actuall it is my first so take it easy on me...R/R ^_^


Shadow in The Sun  
  
DISCLAIMER: Rurouni Kenshin is the creation of Nobuhiro Watsuki  
(All hail!!). No copyright infringement is intended, no profit  
is being made off this. This is merely a piece of fanfic meant  
for entertainment purposes only.  
  
A/N: . This story is supposed to take place after the Kyoto and  
Revenge arcs (assuming Kenshin kicks Enishi's ass to hell and  
beyond and gets Kaoru back). This is my first Rurouni Kenshin  
so take it easy on me. R/R ^_^  
  
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The rurouni was wandering down a long corridor, doors lined up  
on either side of him. Behind each door was a memory-some of  
happy days filled with sunlight and the bright laughter of  
children. But most of those memories were of dark nights filled  
with terror and pain, of the stench of blood and entrails, of  
the screams of the dying.  
The rurouni chose not to open these doors tonight. He'd been  
down this way too many times as it were. Tonight, he stared  
straight ahead, walking steadily towards the door at the end of  
the room.  
He slid the door open. The room was pitch dark. The rurouni  
went inside, unerringly finding his way to the middle of the  
room. He sat down on the floor, placing his sword in front of  
him and waited.  
Somewhere, a light was struck, slowly brightening up the room.  
The rurouni was sitting in front of a small table. A pot of tea  
and a small bottle of sake had been set there, along with two  
cups. A young samurai was sitting across from the rurouni, on  
the other side of the table. The two were a study in contrasts.  
The samurai wore a simple, yet well-made uniform in shades of  
purple and blue. His long red hair was pulled up in a high  
ponytail and his eyes seemed to flicker from a pale violet to a  
deep gold. Two swords-a katana and a wakizashi-lay in front of  
him. Though he was small and seemingly slight of form, a  
palpable aura of danger surrounded him, leaving no room for  
doubt that he was a deadly and formidable swordsman.  
On the other hand, the rurouni looked as if he'd seen better  
days. His gi and hakama were patched and worn. His red hair was  
caught by a strip of cloth at his nape and his eyes were an  
unusual shade of violet. The sword that lay in front of him was  
a sakabatou-its sharp and blunt edges reversed, a sword  
unsuitable for killing. He looked very young, his delicate  
little face always wearing a sweet, gentle expression, giving  
him an innocent and harmless air, except for the shadows in his  
eyes and the cross-shaped scar on his cheek.  
As different as they seemed at first glance, the rurouni and  
the samurai shared one thing in common-their faces were exactly  
the same. But then, that wasn't surprising, since the rurouni  
and the samurai were essentially the same person. Only, they  
were just different sides of the same coin.  
The rurouni spoke first. "Battousai. Why have you called me?"  
"We need to talk."  
"I thought we had more or less settled things already." The  
rurouni bent over a little to pour himself some tea.  
Battousai laughed softly. "It's not that. Though I did have a  
hell of a time getting you to accept me."  
The rurouni flushed slightly. "It's not easy for anyone to come  
to terms with their dark side."  
Battousai shook his head. "I'm not really your 'evil twin',  
Kenshin." He paused to pour himself some sake. "I am the part  
of you that is capable of cold, ruthless action. I hold all  
your shadows, all your dark emotions. And I am also the one who  
ensures we survive. You-and all those that we love."  
"Kaoru."  
Battousai smiled faintly. "She's wonderful."  
The rurouni's smile was an echo of the other's. "We don't  
deserve her."  
"True. And then, there's the rest of our little family too. I  
will not let anything happen to them. Especially now." He  
sipped his sake and made a face. "Feh. It still tastes like  
blood."  
Kenshin-the rurouni, shook his head. "It's the guilt,  
Battousai. That's why we stay away from sake, remember?"  
"Hn. Guilt's a poisonous emotion, Kenshin. We'd better work  
this out sooner or later, if only for the sake of our sanity."  
"Careful," said Kenshin, a mischievous glint lighting up his  
eyes. "Do you want to start sounding like Saitoh?"  
"Che! Kenshin-" Battousai choked for a moment, then, he struck  
back, devilment in his golden eyes. "Well, we share more in  
common with him than you think."  
Kenshin shuddered. "No thanks! Let's not even go there."  
Battousai sipped again at his sake. "Blood or not, I still need  
a drink. All Shishou's fault-of course, the one thing we  
must've picked up from him. You'll be wanting one too, after I  
tell you what's going on." He set his cup down. "Something is  
wrong, Kenshin. I don't know what it is and I don't like that.  
But it bodes danger for us and for our family."  
In the waking world, the rurouni would not consciously remember  
all his dreams. But now, here in this place, he did. "The blood  
dreams..."  
"Hai." Battousai poured himself another cup of sake. "The  
dreams where we stalked Kyoto as the hitokiri, when we killed  
all those people-"  
"-and enjoyed it," concluded Kenshin sickly. "Delighting in it,  
especially when the blood ran on the ground. But we never-"  
"No," said Battousai harshly. "I enjoy the battle, Kenshin, you  
know this. As I've said, I hold all the dark emotions you feel.  
But bloodlust-berserker furies, this is not me. Not us. Never  
us. You don't remember the dreams when you wake-I've tried to  
protect you from them. But now, you must remember."  
"But why are we having these dreams? If it's from guilt, I can  
understand. But this--?" Kenshin was baffled.  
"The last time we were haunted by dreams of the past, Saitoh  
came to challenge us. Then, we had to leave for Kyoto to battle  
Shishio."  
"These dreams are a warning then."  
"Not quite." Battousai paused, obviously trying to grope for  
words. "The dreams aren't just warnings. They're something  
else." His golden eyes were troubled. "Some thing is making us  
dream these dreams, Kenshin. I can sense it. You know we have  
certain talents-our warrior's sixth sense is one of them. It  
warns us when danger is coming. And it IS coming. Watch out for  
it, Kenshin. I am afraid."  
And then, Himura Kenshin woke up.  
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End file.
